My mother is steadfast. She pulled my father off the toilet in Collinwood, Tennessee, while I cowered behind the bed. “My feet hurt too much for this,” was my excuse. Almost four hundred miles of walking. Day after day.

I thought I earned the right to avoid the sight of my father’s manhood.

Mom never flinched, though. She hung with me for three weeks. Through swamps. And oozing blisters. And lots of crying.

Not to mention the crap Dad did. (Really. He spread his essence across three states.)

For a decade, I wished Mom would accept who I’d become. And somewhere in Mississippi, she did. Or maybe she did before, and I refused to see it. Pain is a great magnifying glass; stupidity a microscope.

On this Mother’s Day, I hope my own mother knows how much she means to me, how grateful I am for everything she’s always been. Even when I was too stupid to see it.

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These last few posts have been a great tribute to your mom and your love for her.
I don’t know if my mom (age 90+) will ever really see me as more than her child (hello, mom, I am in my late 50s!!!). She still seems awestruck when I do things like … drive us through interstate traffic for two hours so she can visit her sister. Like she still can’t believe I’m old enough and responsible to do it and do it safely But that’s okay because, frankly, she’s still here and that’s all that matters to me.

Maybe your mother just wanted you to figure it our on your own. I’m sure she accepted you long ago and I know she is very proud of you. Maybe you should have left your dad at home and just hiked with your mom. I’m still not convinced that MTM didn’t follow behind in a motorhome.

I loved this story. I think we all have to get to a certain age before we realize how smart our mom’s are. As a teenager, I remember thinking how stupid my mom was. In my twenties, I thought she was learning and before she died, she was a genius to me. Funny how she got smarter as I aged.